That Which Was Once Lost
by SpawnOfRazgriz
Summary: Oliver is assigned to a team, and appointed as leader. When a team member questions his leadership, he does something that he may regret. And when something from his past returns, it makes him rethink his life completely.
1. Chapter 1

6 months after the events of Orphan and the Cat

I walked into Professor Ozpin's office, as I was instructed, and saw 3 others standing in the room

"Ah. Oliver. Nice of you to join us," he said, stoically. "The four of you haven't met, but you already have something in common. You all arrived to Beacon after the year had started," he continued as he sat down at his desk. "Since the 4 of you were all late arrivals, and therefore not assigned to a team, I'm taking this opportunity to assign you each to the same one. From this moment on, you will be known as Team COSM, led by Oliver."

"Wait… me? Leading a team? But I-" I said, confused. My new teammates tried to hold back their laughter.

"Have you forgotten what you did 6 months ago? You had hundreds of students rallying behind you, with one goal in mind. Qualities of a natural leader if I have ever seen them, and you've been here the longest of anyone on your team. Now report to your new dorm, and get to know each other a bit better."

"Yes, sir," we all four said at once, and turned and left.

In our dorm, 15 minutes later.

As we unpacked, it was relatively silent, until one of my teammates, clad in black, and using a strange accent spoke up.

"So, your name is Oliver, huh?"

"Yeah. Oliver West."

"Interesting. My name's Chernarus. Chernarus Akula. You can just call me Cherno," he said holding his armored hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you," he said as I shook his hand

"What about you two? You got names?" I asked.

"My name is Miroslav Lenin," one of them said, with the same accent, and slightly heavier armor than Chernarus.

The last remaining team member just continued to unpack, not saying a word. He wore an outfit similar to that of Wiess', but made for a male, and with a cloak.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Cherno said to him.

"My name's Schwarze. That's all you need to know," he said sternly.

"What's with him, huh?" I asked Cherno.

"Don't play dumb with me. Weiss told me about you. The one that freed a bunch of Faunus from that prison."

"Wait. Why did Wei-" Then it hit me: The reason he had nearly the same outfit as Weiss. "Oh my God. You're Weiss' brother?"

"Yes. I am. How you ended up team leader instead of me, I will never understand. Especially after doing something like that."

"Something like what?"

"Letting those savages go free."

"The only savages were the White Fang, which I left. The innocent were the only ones freed."

"Innocent? There are no innocent Faunus. They're all the same."

"They are not all the same," I said, getting into his face. "I'll have you know that the girl I love happens to be both a Faunus, and _former _White Fang member. So I suggest you watch yourself. Because if you don't, I will personally throw you over the cliff, while the entire school is watching. Do we have an understanding?" He stood there and stared at me in silence. "I'll will take your silence as a 'yes.'" I said, and went back to unpacking. The next two days went by without much trouble, and I went through my routine of spending time with Blake and Team RWBY, combat training, and my classes. The next day, I was walking with Blake, talking. I suddenly heard a voice from behind me.

"Hey! Where have you been?" Schwarze yelled.

"With my friends, Schwarze."

"You have a team to lead. Or did you forget? That's the only responsibility you have now. Not your little friends."

Suddenly, I couldn't control my anger. I found myself pinning Schwarze to the wall by pressing the back of my arm to his throat. A minute or two later, Cherno and Miroslav, called by Blake, came over and dragged me off of him. When I calmed down, I made eye contact with Blake. I tried to walk over and talk to her, but when I opened my mouth to speak, she just shook her head, and walked away. My other two team mates helped Schwarze get to the infirmary, while I made my way back to the dorm. When I got there I found a note on the pillow of my bed. The note read:

_Hello, Oliver._

_It's been quite some time. Years actually. I've seen what you are capable of, and think it is time that I revealed the truth to you. But not yet. The hour will come. You must be patient, like I know that you can be. _

I sat there, confused. I thought nothing of it, and ripped it up. So I could make sure the day didn't get any worse, I decided to go to bed early.

2 hours later

I woke up to a cold breeze on my face. When I completely came to, I panned around the room, and saw that my team hadn't returned yet. Once I got to the window, I saw that it was open, and a hooded female figure was sitting on the windowsill. The shock of a potential intruder caused me to jump up, grab my sword and point it at them.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Shh. I'm not here to fight you. I just wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Look at you, all grown up. It's been so long."

"I believe I asked you a question," I said, commandingly.

"Assertive. You definitely got that from your father."

"What do you know about my father?" I asked as I heard the doorknob rattle.

"All in due time, my son," she said, as she jumped out the window and vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

"What was that?" Cherno asked. "We could hear from outside."

"I don't know. This woman in a hood showed up and started talking about my father, and then called me 'son,'" I told them, sitting down on my bed

"And this is a problem because?" Miroslav asked.

"Because both of my parents are supposed to be dead. How's Schwarze?"

"Furious. He's just walking around school grounds to cool off. More to the point, what happened? I've never seen you like that," Cherno said.

"It's… part of my aura. Whenever I get angry or sad, and I don't get control over it quick enough, that happens."

"That much was obvious. Be glad Blake ca-"

"OH MY GOD. BLAKE!" I interrupted him. I got up, pushed Cherno out of the way, and ran out the door, not even bothering to close it. I ran to Team RWBY's dorm as fast as I could. When I got there, I started knocking on the door, only to be greeted by an angry Weiss.  
"What on earth do you want?" she asked, glaring at me.

"I need to talk to Blake," I told her.

"I don't see why Blake or anyone would want to talk to you after that stupid stunt you pulled," she said before slamming the door in my face.

'Great. Now I have Schwarze and his sister, my girlfriend, and all of my closest friends furious at me.' I thought, walking back to my dorm. The next few days of classes didn't go well. Everyone I knew avoided me, including my team. Blake wouldn't even look at me. I sat on the ground outside the school, one day. I felt like if I just sat there, and let everybody kick me, I would somehow be okay with it.

"What happened?" said a familiar female voice.

"You again? Listen. I'm not in a very good mood. So I would appreciate it if you would just tell me what you want or leave me alone. Maybe both."

"I think that's fair, given the circumstances. Meet me here at midnight in 3 days. I will tell you everything you want to know."

"Great. More crypticness," I said to her, not realizing she was already gone.

3 days later

The days after our encounter, I just avoided everyone like they avoided me. It had almost succeeded, except for yet another scuffle with Schwarze. Luckily it remained verbal, instead of becoming physical again. I was in my dorm when he came in and started yelling at me.

"What is wrong with you? Remember what I said about being a leader?"

"Yes, I remember. No, I don't care. I would just like to know what your problem is with me."

"My problem with you is that you are weak. You are in love with a Faunus, can't lead your team properly, and you throw temper tantrums like a child."

"Stop saying I love a faunus like it's a bad thing!"

"It is a bad thing, you dolt! Faunus are nothing but animals, caring about nothing but themselves."

"You see, this is why you aren't team leader. You can't see the good in anyone unless you decide it's good," I said, causing him to storm out and slam the door.

I laid down on my bed and just stared at the ceiling. 'I'm so tired of this,' I thought.

Midnight

I snuck out, and met the strange woman who had already visited me twice.

"Good. You're here."

"Yeah. I am," I said, annoyed.

"As promised, you are allowed to ask any questions you want."

"Okay, then. Let's start with who you are, where you came from, and why you keep visiting me."

"My name is Minerva. Minerva West. I'm your mother, Oliver."

"No…. you can't be… my parents died years ago."

"No. We didn't."

"What?"

"17 years ago, your father and I decided that we wouldn't be able to raise you, being a hunter and huntress team. It was the hardest decision we ever made. At 6 months old, we left you on the doorstep of an orphanage. 2 years afterwards, we were attacked by beowolves, and your father died. I became so distraught that I went into hiding for 13 years. For the past 2 years, I have been trying to find you, so that somehow, we could maybe be a family once again. Once I saw you here, I saw the warrior that you were becoming. You have so much of your father in you already. Now i'm here to ask you to please come with me."

"But… what about my friends? What about Blake?"

"The friends that have been avoiding you? If they don't care enough to try to make things better, then are they truly your friends?"

"I… I guess you are right."

"Good. Now, we need to leave before sunrise. We are going to head to where I hid for all those years."

"Well, it has to be better than here. I don't have much, so I should be able to pack lightly."

"Please hurry."

I went back to my dorm to pack. When I was done, I grabbed a pad of paper and began writing. When I was done, I folded the piece of paper in thirds, put it in an envelope that said "To: Blake" and carried it in the hand opposite my suitcase. As I was leaving, I walked past Team RWBY's dorm, and slipped it under the door. I put my forehead against the door.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. As I walked away, I couldn't help but think about how they would react to me being gone, and what Blake would think, after reading that note. Once I got outside, Minerva was there waiting.

"You took too long. The sun's coming up. We need to go," she said.

"Okay," I said. As we walked away from Beacon, I looked behind me one more time.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah it's…. It's nothing. Nothing at all."


	3. Chapter 3

Blake's POV Chapter

The next morning

"Hey, Blake. Check this out," Yang said while we were getting ready to go to class.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"An envelope that says 'To Blake' on it," she said, handing it to me.

"Is he still trying to make things up to me? Go on, you guys. I'll see what this is about and catch up with you," I told them, and they left. I opened the envelope, and it had a folded piece of paper in it. Not knowing what to expect, I unfolded it and started reading. It read:

_ Blake, my love. _

_I'm sorry that it came to this. By the time you read this letter, I will be long gone and far away. Please, don't cry. Just go on with your life and forget about me. But remember this. I will never forget you. You will always have a place in my heart, and I will always love you. If we ever meet again one day, take comfort in knowing that even though you may not know who I am, I will always remember you, Blake. None of this is your fault, but it needs to be done._

_With all the love in my heart,_

_ Oliver_

With shaking hands, I put down the letter. I just laid down on my bed and began to cry. I curled up into a ball, and closed my eyes, hoping that it was all a dream. A while later, I heard a massive knocking sound on the door.

"Blake? Is everything alright? Blake?" Yang said.

"Go away!" I screamed back, still crying.

"What's going on?"

"Oliver… he… he's gone!"

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

"He left me, Yang."

"I'm sure that's not true, Blake. You know how much he cares about you. Now, come on. We need to get to class."

"No! I'm not leaving this room until he comes back, and I hear his voice from the other side of the door."

"Blake, listen to me. I will beat this door down and dra-"

"I SAID NO! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?"

"Fine. But tomorrow, I'm dragging you if I have to," she said and left, leaving me to my own tears and sorrow. Once I somewhat calmed down, I walked over to my bookshelf, and grabbed a book titled "Forever and Always." I found the title slightly ironic. It was the first gift he had ever gotten me, and I kept a picture of us in the front cover.

'Oh, Oliver. Why did you have to go…' I thought. I kissed the picture, put the book back on the shelf and walked back over to my bed. 'Whatever you did, it will never be terrible enough to make me forget you.' I closed my eyes and began to think of the great times we had together, only for the memories to bring me more pain, after remembering that no more would be made. A few hours later, I finally calmed down enough to unlock the door. Soon after, I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Blake. It's me. Please let me in," Yang said.

"It's unlocked."

She came in and sat on my bed, where I was still laying, facing away from her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" I asked her.

"I could ask you the same question."

"What do you want, Yang?"

"I want to know what the heck happened."

I sat up and handed the letter to her.

"He was the only boy that knew I was a Faunus and loved me anyway. And now he's gone, who knows where, doing who knows what. We were fine, and he just decided to leave," I told her as she read it.

"Blake, I'm sorry, but you weren't fine. After his fight with Schwarze, he tried to make things up to you, so many times, but you kept pushing him away."

"So this is my fault?" I said, trying not to start crying again.

"I never said that. Maybe he had some other things going on that he felt like he needed to get away from. I'm sure he'll be back, just give it some time. You can just stay here, and I won't judge you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know, alright?" Yang said comfortingly.

"Thank you, Yang," I said, not feeling much better, but hugging her anyway.

"What are partners for?" she said, hugging me back.

2 days later

It had been two days and Oliver hadn't come back, a fact that made it harder and harder every day for me to push forward. I would spend hours looking out the window and at the picture of us, hoping it would change something, but to no avail. I could tell that my friends were worried about me, but they didn't say anything in an effort to try not to make the hurt even worse. With no end to this pain in sight, I truly considered giving up.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver POV

We were walking in an open field in silence. We had been traveling for days, I had no idea where we were headed, and I had no clue how to address this woman who had suddenly claimed to be my mother.

"You've been awfully quiet," she suddenly spoke up

"I know. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"I… um…" I muttered

"You what?"

"I left a note for Blake."

"YOU DID WHAT?" she said, almost angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry. Did you really think I was going to leave without saying goodbye to anyone?"

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her to forget about me. So, where are we headed?"

"Your father's grave," she said, looking up from a map. "I thought you might want to see it."

Once we got there, I knelt down to look at the headstone. 'Edward West' was engraved into it. 'I'm s

"Oliver, look sharp!" she said sternly

"What's wrong?"

"Beowolves! And a lot of them!"

They rushed at us, and we were dispatching them with ease, until a few well executed attacks put us on the defensive. After killing a few more, we gained the upper hand once again. One they had been defeated, we took some time to catch our breaths. However, it was interrupted by the arrival of another beowolf, one considerably larger than the previous ones. It snarled and grabbed my mother by her cloak, throwing her into the air. I made eye contact with her as she went sailing into the sky, and there was a look in her eyes that said "I'm sorry." I tried to move to catch her, but I was blocked. I saw her hit the ground and scream in pain, which triggered my aura. A primal scream escaped my lungs, as I dropped my sword and leapt at the beowolf. I jumped onto it, and began literally tearing it apart. My now enraged hands tore through it like wet paper. Once it was in tiny pieces scattered across the ground, I calmed down and rushed over to her, and held her in my arms.

"You're gonna be alright…." I said, crying.

"Oliver…"

"I'm getting you out of here. I just got you back, I'm not losing you again."

"No. Stop," she said, quickly becoming weaker. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here."

"But… you're my…"

"Shhhh," she said, using most of her strength to put a finger to my lips. "We all have to go sometime."

"Don't talk like that."

"Please, be brave. Even though our time together was so short, I'm still glad to know that you were my son," she said, closing her eyes and going limp.

"Minerva? Minerva? Mom? You… you can't be gone," I said, shaking her and crying at the same time. I screamed into the air at the top of my lungs, even though I know I knew nobody could hear me. After a while of sitting on the ground, holding my mother's lifeless body, I decided that she needed a proper burial. Since I didn't have any tools to use, I used my hands, a task that took hours upon hours to complete. I buried her next to my father. Although I never knew them, they were still my parents, and I respected them as such. When I was done, I knelt down on their graves

"Even though you guys left me when I was young, I feel the need to thank you. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have met all of my friends, and I may not have wanted to be a Hunter. Now you are together again. I'm going to go back to Beacon. I'm going to make things right. With everyone. I will visit you once a year, as my way of honoring your memory. Goodbye." I stood up, grabbed my things and began walking away.

The journey back to Beacon took nearly a week. 3 days in, the only thing that was keeping me going was the thoughts of what everyone else would think of me when I came back.

When I got back to Beacon, everyone else stared at me as I walked towards my dorm. I open the door, and saw Cherno and Miroslav staring at me, but Schwarze wasn't there. At least I wouldn't have to deal with him. Yet.

"It's about time you came back. You think it's okay to just leave your team?" Cherno said, getting into my face. "We thought we were gonna have to deal with Schwarze lording over us permanently." He smiled and shook my hand. "Welcome back."

"Wait….. don't tell me Schwarze got appointed to leader."

"No. Not officially, anyway. He appointed himself since you decided to leave. Also, you might want to go see Blake. She found the note you left her and now refuses to associate with anyone until she knows you're safe."

"Oh no…." I dropped everything and ran out and to her dorm, not knowing what I would find. As I got to the door and just stood there and stared at it.

"Blake?" I said as I knocked lightly on the door. A few moments later, the door opened slowly.

"Is… it really you?"

"Yeah. It's me." I suddenly received a gift of the back of Blake's hand to my face.

"That's for abandoning me!"

"Okay, I admit I des-" I started to say, but was interrupted by Blake pulling me into a long kiss. "And that?" I asked, after the kiss broke.

"Because you came back. Now I want you to promise me that you will never leave me again."

"I'm not sure I can ma-" I stopped when I saw her beginning to cry. I held her shoulders, looked into her eyes, and said "Blake. I promise. I am never going to leave you again," and pulled her into a hug.

"If it's not too much to ask, can you stay with me tonight? Please? I need you here." she said, and I wiped a tear from her eye.

"Of course, Blake."

2 hours later

We laid there together, asleep. We were wrapped in silence and each other's arms. After a while, I heard the door open, waking me up, but surprisingly not Blake, and Yang walked in.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?! " Yang yelled, causing Blake to now wake up and scream. Yang picked me up by my shirt collar with one hand, Ember Celica aimed at my face in the other, and slammed me against the wall. "You better start explaining right now!" she yelled, her aura flaring, and her eyes turning red.

"Yang, stop it!" Blake yelled.


	5. Chapter 5

I was pinned to the wall by Yang, now joined by an equally angry Weiss and Ruby.

"What's the big deal, huh? You cause everyone to worry about you, and then you just come back and think you can just-"

"If you are about to say what I think you are, we did not do anything," I cut her off through a strained voice.

"And I'm supposed to just believe you?" Yang asked, still angry.

"He's telling the truth!" Blake said, not having an effect on Yang.

"Who else knows you're back?"

"My teammates with the exception of Schwarze," I said.

"Get out," Yang said, letting me go.

"What?" I coughed out, confused.

"You heard me."

"Yang! Stop it! Now!" Blake said.

"Why should I? I saw how much he hurt you. I can't see how you still love him after that," I heard as I snuck out of the room. I walked back to my dorm and saw my team getting yelled at by Schwarze.

"Hey!" I yelled at him.

"You. I don't believe you. Of all people, you would have to be the one to pull something like this," he said, advancing on me. "Running away because you are too stubborn to admit you can't lead. What brought you crawling back?"

I knocked his leg out from underneath him, causing him to land on his back.

"You think I left because of that? You think I'm that shallow? My mother was alive, Schwarze. She asked me to come with her, and I did. Imagine it. Imagine being told something your whole life, even accepting it, then finding that it was wrong. Imagine growing up with nothing, then finally having something to go after. Wouldn't you have done the same?" I said to him as stared at me from the floor.

"I… I didn't know."

"Exactly. You didn't care enough about your teammates, and others around you. Only your pride. That's why I'm the leader. I know my team. I know their strengths, weaknesses, and potential. It's my job to help them realize it. That starts now. From this day forward, we are going to go to the Emerald Forest every day for 3 hours after class. All of us," I said. The 3 of them just stared at me. "What are you waiting for? Let's get moving."

Things at Beacon returned to normal, or at least what I had perceived to be normal, over the course of the next few weeks. My friends became my friends again, and overall, things were better. I made things up to Blake, and Schwarze and I gained a mutual respect for each other. Not just as teammates, but as friends, although words between the two of us were still scarce. One day after training, I went out with Blake, much to the disapproval of her teammates, as their trust was harder to gain back. I came back to my dorm, and what I saw nearly made my heart stop: Schwarze and a girl I recognized only as Pyrrha. I dread to go into too much detail, but once they saw me, they collected themselves and Pyrrha left embarrassed. Schwarze tried to go after her, but I stopped him.

"Hey, if you're gonna do that, don't do it where the rest of us sleep. At least warn us or lock the door," I said with a slight laugh.

"Pyrrha and I haven't been the only ones in there, you know. Ask Cherno. The way he bragged, he made it sound like the room was gonna set fire," he said as he went after Pyrrha, leaving me in the hall, stunned by a mental image of Cherno and who I could only imagine as being Yang, and wondering what I missed while I was gone.

A while later

When Schwarze came back, I was waiting.

"So, how long has this been going on?"

"Few weeks, why?"

"Before or after I left?"

"Um… after?" he said as if he didn't know that was the answer.

"Interesting. If I didn't know any better, I would think you were acting like a jerk to impress her."

"I… well…," he stammered.

"Relax. Trust me, if I were after a girl like Pyrrha, I probably would have done the same," I said, trying not to laugh but failing in the process. "Good to know there's some warmth behind that icy shell of yours," I said, hitting him in the shoulder.

"You know she probably talks about it with her friends all the time," Schwarze said.

"Girls that are friends usually trust each other more than guys, so I can imagine she does."

"I just had a terrible thought. What if Nora found out from her, somehow? We would never hear the end of it."

The room went silent for all of 10 seconds as we stared at each other, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"You know, I think this is the first conversation we've had where one of us isn't yelling at the other," I pointed out as we both calmed down.

"Let's keep it that way, if possible."


End file.
